On Aug. 10, SPJ leaders decided against lending the organization’s name to an amicus brief in support of National Geographic in Faulkner vs. National Geographic Society. Read the press release on SPJ’s Web site.

Freelance writer Pat Terry, SPJ’s new Freelance Committee chair, recently returned to her journalism roots after several years in business writing and public relations. And she’s delighted.

After launching her career as a business news reporter for Fairchild Publications in Cleveland, Pat wrote for the Chicago Tribune—where she met and married then-film critic Cliff Terry—before taking over a small national trade association as executive director and communications chief. Subsequent freelance PR gigs ranged from the International Housewares Show (she won Publicity Club of Chicago’s Silver Trumpet for International PR) and the National Manufacturing Week show to a female law partnership promoting children’s welfare.

But she’s back at her Mac G4 these days as a full-time freelance writer for media such as Midwest Home Chicago magazine, the Chicago Sun-Times’ Real Estate/HomeLife section, the Chicago Tribune’s “Tempo” section, NEA Today, rugnews.com and Creative Real Estate Lifestyles.  (Cliff, a former Nieman Fellow and award-winning feature writer, has been a full-time freelancer, too, since leaving the Chicago Tribune in a huff.)

Today the Terry travel-writing team—Pat provides the photos—has been published in the Chicago Tribune travel section and Sunday magazine, The Washington Post, The Denver Post, Los Angeles Times, St. Louis-Post Dispatch, Lions and Explore.

In light of SPJ’s decision to support the publisher in the following lawsuit, I’ve resigned as SPJ’s freelance committee chair. While we can all agree to disagree on many superficial issues, nothing is more important to independent journalists than the ability to negotiate our contracts.

I wish you all well.

Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell

You can read SPJ’s announcement here:
http://www.spj.org/news.asp?REF=681